Hard not to notice that there seems to be a great deal of hand-wringing – much of it justified – about the Bombers’ still vacant defensive co-ordinator position and the possible loss of D-line coach Richard Harris to the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

First things first, the CFL released today its December edition of the 2011 Canadian Draft rankings and that’s of particular interest to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, who currently hold the first overall pick (but are said to be trying to deal to move down in the first round and grab another later pick).

The title is actually a line from a friend of mine, after I told him the Bombers were forced to use their third-stringer in Saturday’s game. The reference, of course, is Def Leppard front man Joe Elliott. My friend – much like myself – automatically thought of the British band and Union Jack T-shirts with the sleeves cut off when he first heard the name. Seriously, he did. No F-F-Foolin.’

Now that Brock Ralph has been sent to the sidelines and Adarius Bowman is no longer with the Bombers, I decided to look at the receiving numbers put up by the club this season. I have no real motivation to do this – no real point to prove – I’m just a little curious as to what the figures look like now that two players who were expected to put up 1,000-yard seasons are no longer starting in River City.

OK. So the Bombers are officially in a position where they no longer control their own destiny. Playoff excitement is now in the hands of others, specifically the B.C. Lions and Edmonton Eskimos. The standings have the Bombers (4-11) a game behind the two West Division clubs (both at 5-10) but in reality, the local footballers are two games back, as they need to finish ahead of both the Leos and Eskies to claim the crossover spot (barring the unlikelihood of a tie in the remaining games). Here's what each team has left:

Jonathan Hefney touched down in Winnipeg this afternoon. His arrival was expected given he is still under contract with the Bombers and risked suspension if he didn’t report following his release from the Detroit Lions practice roster earlier this month.